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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. track — a song
  4. degree — an amount
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cue — for pool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cue — a signal
  13. game — a match
  14. bat — the animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. track — a path
  17. chair — a leader
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cue — a hint
  23. game — wild animals
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com